Catholic Syrian Bank to raise Rs 400 crore capital through QIB:

Kerala-based Catholic Syrian Bank (CSB) Board has approved a proposal to raise capital by way of the qualified institutional buyer (QIB) allocating upto 40 million shares to the investors. The Bank which is seeking around Rs 400 crore to fund its growth till March 2019, said the process will be completed by October.

The development comes two months after Fairfax called off CSB’s investment plan due to a valuation issue. Canadian investor Prem Watsa’s Fairfax Financial Holdings was planning to invest around Rs 1,000 crore in CSB for a 51 per cent stake.

Catholic Syrian Bank plans QIP to raise up to Rs400 crore:

Kerala based-Catholic Syrian Bank (CSB) Ltd is looking to raise as much as Rs400 crore by selling shares to financial institutions, following the collapse of its plan to sell a major stake to Prem Watsa owned Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd over differences in valuation.

The bank plans to raise money through a qualified institutional placement (QIP), where listed companies sell shares, fully and partly convertible debentures, or any security other than convertible warrants, to a qualified institutional buyer.

“The board has given the approval to raise up to Rs400 crore through a QIP before end October. We have appointed JM Financial as the merchant banker,” said C.V.R. Rajendran, managing director and chief executive of Catholic Syrian Bank.

Bandhan Bank Ltd., the first Indian microfinance lender to get a banking permit, has picked arrangers for an initial public offering that could raise at least 50 billion rupees ($780 million), people with knowledge of the matter said.

The lender, which is backed by Singapore sovereign fund GIC Pte, chose Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. to advise on the share sale, according to the people. Axis Bank Ltd.BSE 0.19 %, JM Financial LtdBSE 0.13 %. and Kotak Mahindra Bank LtdBSE -0.16 %. are also working on the offering, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private.

Bandhan Bank had a net interest margin of 10.75 per cent in the quarter ended June 30, the highest among banks in the South Asian nation, while its bad-loan ratio was 0.82 per cent, according to company filings. It was started as a microfinance company in 2001 and converted to a bank in 2015 as India approved new licenses in an effort ..

ICICI Lombard IPO offers slice of nascent market at hefty premium:

India’s general insurance market has just begun to stir, reason enough for investors to give a resounding welcome to ICICI Lombard General Insurance Co.’s initial public offering (IPO).

But that is just the first- mover advantage. ICICI Lombard holds a little over 8% of the grossly under-penetrated non-life insurance market where only 30 companies do business. Public sector firms—there are four of them—own more than half of the non-life insurance market.

The insurer has priced its share offer at Rs651-661 apiece and hopes to rake in close to Rs5,700 crore through the IPO. At this band, the company is valued at around Rs30,000 crore, a jump of 48% in just six months. In May, the general insurer’s Canadian shareholder Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd diluted its stake that had valued ICICI Lombard at a little over Rs20,000 crore.

The general insurer’s management believes that the potential growth in business due to the sheer under-penetration in the market and the fact that ICICI Lombard has an enviable diversified distribution channel are also reasons for the appreciation in valuation.

ICICI Lombard IPO: A safe growth option:

Nearly a year after listing its life insurance business, ICICI Bank will list its general insurance arm, ICICI Lombard General Insurance, the largest non-life private sector player based on gross direct premium income (GDPI). The initial public offering (IPO) has many advantages for investors. The most eye-catching one being the first-mover advantage among private players. The under-penetrated nature of general insurance in India and the diversified product offering, along with market leadership among private players across categories, supports the investment rationale in …

In four months, ICICI Lombard General Insurance valuations jump 50%:

Private general insurance company ICICI Lombard, which was valued at around Rs 20,000 crore in May 2017, has seen a 50 percent jump in its valuations to Rs 30,000 crore. ICICI Lombard is bringing out its initial public offering (IPO) which opens on September 15, 2017 and will close on September 19, 2017.

The price band has been fixed from Rs 651 to Rs 661 per equity share and Rs 5615 crore will be raised from the offer for sale. This has valued the insurer between Rs 29,500 crore and Rs 30,000 crore.

The funds raised from the IPO will go to the bank. The minimum capital requirement or solvency of ICICI Lombard is above the prescribed limit of 1.5 and stands at 2.13.

In May, ICICI Lombard General Insurance had said that its foreign partner, Canada-based Fairfax, offloaded part stake of 12.18 percent to a clutch of investors, including Warburg Pincus for around Rs 2480 crore.

ICICI Lombard General Insurance IPO to open on September 15, ICICI Bank shares gain:

ICICI Bank shares gained more than 1 percent intraday Thursday after CNBC-TV18 report said the IPO of its general insurance company will open for subscription in the coming week.

ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company will launch its initial public offer of up to 8,62,47,187 equity shares on September 15.

The issue consists of offer for sale of up to 3,17,61,478 equity shares by promoter ICICI Bank, up to 5,44,85,709 shares by investor Fal Corporation. The issue also include a reservation of up to 43,12,359 equity shares for purchase by ICICI Bank shareholders.

The issue will close on September 19.

ICICI Lombard is the largest private-sector non-life insurer in India based on gross direct premium income in fiscal 2017.

Earlier this week, ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company received approval capital market regulator Sebi for the IPO, which would be the first by a general insurer in the country.

ICICI Lombard gets SEBI approval for Rs. 6,000 cr IPO:

ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company has got capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)’s go-ahead for its estimated Rs. 6,000 crore initial public offer, which could be the first by a general insurer in the country.

Two state-run general insurers — General Insurance Corp of India and New India Assurance Company — as also two life insurance firms (SBI Life and HDFC Standard Life) have also lined up IPO plans and are awaiting SEBI’s go-ahead for their respective draft papers.

Among these, SEBI is awaiting “clarification” from insurance regulator IRDAI with regard to IPOs by HDFC Standard Life, New India Assurance and General Insurance, as per the latest update available with SEBI on these IPOs. In case of SBI Life, the market regulator received the required details from IRDAI on August 28 and the case is currently “under process” at SEBI’s end.

SEBI issued its “observations” — a technical jargon for the regulator’s go-ahead for public issues — on the public offer by ICICI Lombard General Insurance on September 1. The company had filed its draft prospectus with SEBI on July 14 for the public issue which would comprise Offer For Sale of shares by existing shareholders, accounting for 19 per cent stake.

ICICI Lombard is a joint venture between ICICI Bank and Canada-based Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. The IPO involves dilution of up to 86,247,187 equity shares of face value of Rs. 10 each of ICICI Lombard General Insurance. According to market sources, the IPO could be worth about Rs. 6,000 crore.

SEBI had sought clarification from IRDAI regarding General Insurance Corp (GIC) on August 21 and about New India Assurance Co Ltd on August 16. Some ‘clarification’ was sought from IRDAI regarding HDFC Standard Life on August 23.

Rama Moorthy has over three decades of experience in various phases of banking across operations, new products and services, retail lending, corporate banking, marketing and business expansion.

The appointment of Moorthy is for a period of three years from the date of assuming the charge according to the approval received from the Reserve Bank of India, in line with the earlier recommendations of the bank’s board.

The Kerala-based Catholic Syrian Bank (CSB) has chalked out plans to get back on the path of consistent growth and sustainable success, powered by core income growth. The bank is focusing on capital augmentation after the Fairfax deal didn’t go through.

In 2016-17, the bank was able to report an operating profit of Rs 151.71 crore, as against an operating loss of Rs 3.75 crore in 2015-16, and reported a net profit of Rs 1.55 crore, as against a net loss of Rs 149.72 crore in 2015-16.

CSB Chairman T S Anantharaman said the bank’s profitability was under stress mainly due to muted growth in the overall business and an increase in provisioning for non-performing assets (NPA). However, according to him, the erosion in profitability has been arrested and contained.

Metropolitan Stock Exchange of India eyes block deals in revival bid:

The Metropolitan Stock Exchange of India (MSEI) plans to woo brokerages to execute large stock trades on its venue, as a new management team tries to breathe life into a bourse that has floundered for a decade.

Backed by billionaires Rakesh Jhunjhunwala and Radhakishan Damani, MSEI aims to wade into the block deals segment, which is worth as much as Rs5 trillion ($78 billion), according to chief executive Udai Kumar. India’s regulator defines a block as a single trade having at least 500,000 shares or a minimum value of 50 million rupees. Money managers like dealing in large sizes because it ensures transactions are done before the market can hear about them and react by raising or lowering prices.

“We are telling institutional investors to come to our platform—there will be no slippages or price impact,” said Kumar, who was named chief executive officer last year to turn around the bourse. The MSEI is in talks with half a dozen large investment banks to bring in such deals, he said.

That’s easier said than done. Despite starting in 2008, MSEI has failed to seriously threaten its rivals. It had a 4.3% share of currency derivatives at the end of March, and barely exists in India’s $2 trillion equity market, which is dominated by the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd and BSE Ltd.

The company has struggled to make a mark since a payment default in 2013 at a related exchange forced the original founders to sell. A clutch of financial institutions now own more than 34% of MSEI, as do investors including Jhunjhunwala, Damani and Nemish Shah, according to bourse’s website.

ICICI Lombard OK withinvestor backing rival co:

ICICI Lombard is beefing up its digital platform to consolidate its position as the country’s largest private non-life insurer even as partner Fairfax Financial Holdings prepares to pick up 49% stake in a rival non-life startup Digit. However, the private insurer does not see any conflict in Fairfax being the biggest shareholder by retaining close to 10% stake in ICICI Lombard.

Speaking to TOI, ICICI Lombard MD & CEO Bhargav Dasgupta said that the settlement with Fairfax has been amicable. “They are extremely bullish on general insurance — their core business — and they are very bullish on India. Fairfax was very keen to hold 49% in their India business,” Dasgupta said.

However, this was not possible as ICICI Bank‘s stated objective was to list its insurance subsidiaries. “Since they had to obviously dilute because of the IPO, it made sense for them to invest in a business where they could hold 49%,” he added.

ICICI Lombard has been the first general insurer to file for an IPO through which Fairfax and ICICI Bank are diluting their shareholding by 12% and 7% respectively. “The company has 8.5% share of the Rs 1.28-lakh-crore non-life industry and has been growing at a compounded annual rate of 26.7% from FY15 to FY17” said Dasgupta. The non-life venture is valued by analysts at around Rs 30,000 crore. Going by current valuations the IPO is likely to raise Rs 5,700 crore.

Bandhan Bank initiates IPO process:

Bandhan Bank has initiated the process of an initial public offering (IPO). The timing of the IPO will depend on market conditions, Chandra Shekhar Ghosh, Managing Director and CEO, Bandhan Bank, said.

The bank is in the process of selecting investment bankers for its proposed IPO. “The process of selecting investment banks has started. It is a long process,” he said.

Bandhan is the first microfinance institution to receive universal banking licence in 2015. The Reserve Bank of India’s guidelines mandates the bank to get itself listed within three years from commencement of banking operations.

“As per RBI norms we have to get listed within three years; we are in the process,” Ghosh told newspersons on the sidelines of its second anniversary celebration here on Wednesday. The bank is not in a hurry to go for an IPO immediately as it is comfortable on the capital front.

Five mega Insurance IPOs to raise up to Rs 40,000 crore by this year-end:

Looking for protection from financial losses? While you may contemplating as to which insurance policy would be suitable to your needs given the plethora of policies, these companies are also coming out with their IPOs. There are five mega Insurance IPO’s lined up before the end of 2017 which you may want to consider. These companies are set to collectively raise up to Rs 40,000 crore before the end of 2017. These companies are HDFC Standard Life Insurance, New India Assurance, GIC of India, SBI Life Insurance Company and ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company. Take a look.

Hero FinCorp in talks to raise Rs1,000 crore at $1 billion valuation:

Hero FinCorp Ltd, the financial services arm of India’s largest two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp Ltd, is looking to raise up to Rs1,000 crore at a valuation of $1 billion at its next funding round, two people familiar with the matter said.

Credit Suisse, which was mandated to manage the fund-raising, has approached several large domestic and global private equity funds for a potential investment, the people cited above said on condition of anonymity.

The size of the stake sale has not been finalized and will depend on what the final valuation is in the forthcoming round, they said.

“The company expects to be valued around $1 billion,” said one of the two people cited above. In the last funding round, Hero FinCorp was valued at close to Rs4,000 crore, this person said. “Since then, the book size has grown significantly.”